The field of catalytic cracking and particularly fluid catalyst operations have undergone significant development improvements due primarily to advances in catalyst technology and product distribution obtained therefrom. With the advent of high activity catalysts and particularly crystalline zeolite cracking catalysts, new areas of operating technology have been encountered requiring even further refinements in processing techniques to take advantage of the high catalyst activity, selectivity and operating sensitivity.
Commercial fluid catalyst processes utilize catalysts flow on the order of tons per hour through standpipes which are flow regulated by restrictive slide valves. Thus, although commercial fluid catalytic cracking (hereinafter FCC) processes and apparatus are generally well known throughout the industry, current and future research into novel catalysts compositions and/or modifications of existing compositions necessitate the testing of such compositions at laboratory and/or pilot plant scales before bulk production of the catalyst and commercial FCC operation commence.
The present invention is therefore concerned with the physical and chemical process of hydrocarbon conversion utilizing a solid particulate catalyst at laboratory and/or pilot plan scale. In a particular aspect of the present invention a solid particulate delivery system is disclosed for delivering small amounts of a solid particulate material under controlled conditions.